Yesterday I realised I had forgotten to switch off the radiateurs grille pain before going to bed… I just checked my EDF app and see we used >40kWh instead of the usual 20kWh 
I really need to RTFM to learn how to program them to turn off automatically in case I forget.
But you are toasty warm 
this being the good news thread 
Haha, yes, good point… 
We just drove out of our courtyard and into the lane when a buzzard flew across us with a wriggling grass snake in its talons.
I don’t suppose it was very cheerful for the snake, but it was an amazing experience for us.
Nature red in tooth and claw.
I couldn’t locate the Art thread, so posting here because it’s good news for art lovers that the Vuitton museum will have a big Hockney exhibition in the middle of a Spring Bois de Boulogne
https://www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr/en/events/david-hockney-25
Yes lots of movement going on in the animal, insect and reptile world currently. I have never seen so many lizards as seen in the past couple of days outside, the hot sun bringing everything out and giving me a red face.
Cherry blossoms in Washington and a Kodak moment
Four year old Belle Thomas and her 1-year-old brother, Preston, are standing still, looking straight into the camera lens and smiling. It’s picture-perfect, and their mother photographer is ready.
Click!
Just then, a 6-foot-1, two-term former president of the United States strides into the frame. In a few seconds, the photo shoot is over, and the photos are no longer of the siblings alone.
Thank you to NYT for this happy piece of news.
My brother would love to be in that position, two of his three that originally left home have both been back for a couple of years now and costing a fortune in food,water and electricity as one works from home. Sad fact compared to when I was their age and everyone left home as soon as they could after school and getting a job, not cool to live with parents back then nor pleasant!
That photo looks very suspect to me.
and the cheerful news is that the photo is real… 
Let’s try not to let cynicism trump our enjoyment of life!
I love that the little girl looks like cherry blossom herself.
You are right, I apologise. It looked to me, in the original photo, that Obama had lost his left toes.
They are hidden under the edge of the raised bench the children are standing on - they are cute (the children, not his toes) - and Obama’s not doing badly!
I like that Obama has his service detail wear non-uni when he is not suited up himself. I also imagine they specially chose young security officers who could keep pace with the long legged ex president.
I imagine the constant proximity makes for quite a close relationship, and that someone like Obama would be sensitive to a young man by his side who would give his life to protect in a crisis.
I agreed with you before because to me it didn’t look like Obama at all.
Talking of protection, did I read that petty Trump had taken away that of Biden, Harris and several others?
Any other time I would have said not possible surely it’s the law, but with this disrespector of everything, anything is.
I doubt that Trump can remove the protection given to former presidents. That would set a dangerous precedent.
Possibly, you are thinking of the decree by Trump that certain intelligence no longer be shared with former presidents? He wouldn’t want any sage counsel interfering with his omnipotence.
Below is paywall free link to this morning’s NY Times’ article on the show. I’ve always been ambivalent about Hockney - loved some of his work - particularly from the Seventies and Eighties, such the ‘Paper Pools’ series - still have this exhibition poster somewhere
and his Californian Polaroid ‘Joiners’, but definitely not a fan of his latest William Blake based paintings.
We won’t be in Paris again until the second week in September, so won’t be able to catch this show and I imagine the Vuitton will be closed for rehanging when we’re there. OTOH I imagine the media coverage will be immense.
Been worried sick the past 24hrs as family in Tennessee were sheltering from tornadoes touching down all around them. Got message earlier to say all well and its passed by photos they sent showed the huge black funnel cloud forming nearby. They moved from Texas to avoid this continual nightmare and now its followed them!
